Designing for Motivation: Psychological Mediators of Gamified Engagement in Digital Knowledge Work
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61978/data.v3i2.1087Keywords:
Gamification, Psychological Needs, Self Determination Theory, Digital Collaboration, Intrinsic Motivation, User Engagement, Workplace PlatformsAbstract
Gamification is a common strategy in digital workspaces to boost engagement and performance. This study examines the psychological mechanisms of gamified engagement, particularly how badges, points, and leaderboards shape user motivation through Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Drawing on platform data from GitHub and Stack Overflow, combined with survey responses using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), the research examines whether gamification elements fulfill users' needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, thereby promoting knowledge creation and collaboration. The methodology combines behavioral data (1,500 user-week observations) with IMI survey responses (180 users), analyzed using structural equation modeling and mediation testing. Results indicate that gamification significantly enhances perceived competence and relatedness, which in turn mediate increases in knowledge sharing outputs and collaborative behavior. Competence is linked with content contributions, while relatedness correlates with social interaction metrics. Subgroup analysis reveals differential effects based on user roles and platform context. These findings highlight the importance of aligning gamification elements with psychological needs, rather than relying solely on extrinsic rewards. Ethical considerations, including role based design and data transparency, are essential for sustainable engagement. The study offers both theoretical insights and practical guidance for implementing motivationally effective and ethically sound gamified systems in professional digital environments.
References
Ahmad, N., Nafees, B., & Kamran, H. (2023). Determinants of Customers’ Behavior for the Adoption of Green Banking Products and Services: UTAUT Model-Based Explanation. Academic Journal of Social Sciences (Ajss ), 7(2), 062–080. https://doi.org/10.54692/ajss.2023.07022018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.54692/ajss.2023.07022018
Alhalafawy, W. S., & Zaki, M. (2019). The Effect of Mobile Digital Content Applications Based on Gamification in the Development of Psychological Well-Being. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies (Ijim), 13(08), 107. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v13i08.10725 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v13i08.10725
Al-Kaabi, R. (2024). Factors Affecting Citizen Engagement in the Kingdom of Bahrain Through Gamification. International Journal of Computing and Digital Systems, 15(1), 827–849. https://doi.org/10.12785/ijcds/160160 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12785/ijcds/160160
Alshaabani, A., Hamza, K. A., & Rudnák, I. (2021). Impact of Diversity Management on Employees’ Engagement: The Role of Organizational Trust and Job Insecurity. Sustainability, 14(1), 420. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010420 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010420
Altomari, L., Altomari, N., & Iazzolino, G. (2023). Gamification and Soft Skills Assessment in the Development of a Serious Game: Design and Feasibility Pilot Study. Jmir Serious Games, 11, e45436. https://doi.org/10.2196/45436 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/45436
Ansong, A., Addison, R. A., Yeboah, M. A., & Ansong, L. O. (2023). Relational Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Do Employee Well-Being and Employee Voice Matter? Leadership in Health Services, 37(2), 259–276. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs-06-2023-0041 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-06-2023-0041
Aubert, A. H., Scheidegger, A., & Schmid, S. (2023). Gamified Online Surveys: Assessing Experience With Self-Determination Theory. Plos One, 18(10), e0292096. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292096 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292096
Baydar, F. (2023). The Effect of School Principals’ Agile Leadership Behaviors on Entrepreneurial Teacher Behaviors Through Innovative Organizations. The Universal Academic Research Journal, 5(3), 168–181. https://doi.org/10.55236/tuara.1324118 DOI: https://doi.org/10.55236/tuara.1324118
Bitrián, P., Buil, I., & Catalán, S. (2020). Gamification in Sport Apps: The Determinants of Users’ Motivation. European Journal of Management and Business Economics, 29(3), 365–381. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejmbe-09-2019-0163 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-09-2019-0163
Catellani, P., Biella, M., Carfora, V., Nardone, A., Brischigiaro, L., Manera, M., & Piastra, M. (2023). A Theory-Based and Data-Driven Approach to Promoting Physical Activity Through Message-Based Interventions. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1200304 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1200304
Dong, M., Choi, Y., Ma, P., Cai, H., & Cui, L. (2024). Employee Ownership and Firm Digital Transformation. British Journal of Management, 36(2), 511–528. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12870 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12870
Edwards, E. A., Lumsden, J., Rivas, C., Steed, L., Edwards, L., Thiyagarajan, A., Sohanpal, R., Caton, H., Griffiths, C., Munafò, M. R., Taylor, S., & Walton, R. (2016). Gamification for Health Promotion: Systematic Review of Behaviour Change Techniques in Smartphone Apps. BMJ Open, 6(10), e012447. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012447 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012447
Fang, M., Choi, K., Kim, S., & Chan, B. (2023). Student Engagement and Satisfaction With Online Learning: Comparative Eastern and Western Perspectives. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 20(5). https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.5.03 DOI: https://doi.org/10.53761/1.20.5.03
Fawzy, R. M. (2020). Let’s Play News!: An SFL Approach to Aesthetic Interactivity of Gamified News. Games and Culture, 16(5), 557–582. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412020920047 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412020920047
García-Jurado, A., Castro-González, P., Jiménez, M. T., & Leal‐Rodríguez, A. L. (2019). Evaluating the Role of Gamification and Flow in E-Consumers: Millennials Versus Generation X. Kybernetes, 48(6), 1278–1300. https://doi.org/10.1108/k-07-2018-0350 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/K-07-2018-0350
Johnson, D., Deterding, S., Kuhn, K.-A. L., Staneva, A., Stoyanov, S., & Hides, L. (2016). Gamification for Health and Wellbeing: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Internet Interventions, 6, 89–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2016.10.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2016.10.002
Kwan, W. L., Dorasamy, M., Ahmad, A. A., Jayabalan, J., Kumar, P., & Subermaniam, L. (2021). Digital Taxation to Promote Frugal Innovation in Institutions of Higher Learning: A Three-Decade Systematic Literature Review. F1000research, 10, 1055. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73318.1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.73318.1
Landers, R. N. (2018). Gamification Misunderstood: How Badly Executed and Rhetorical Gamification Obscures Its Transformative Potential. Journal of Management Inquiry, 28(2), 137–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492618790913 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492618790913
Liu, Y., Qian, H., & Zhou, Y. (2025). Inconsistent Geographical Patterns of Phylogenetic Relatedness Among Different Plant Growth Forms: A Case Study in Woody and Herbaceous Angiosperms of China. Journal of Systematics and Evolution, 63(3), 767–777. https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13157 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jse.13157
Mulcahy, R., Zainuddin, N., & Russell‐Bennett, R. (2020). Transformative Value and the Role of Involvement in Gamification and Serious Games for Well-Being. Journal of Service Management, 32(2), 218–245. https://doi.org/10.1108/josm-05-2019-0137 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-05-2019-0137
Nagatani, A., Chen, S., Nakamura, M., & Saiki, S. (2022). Exploiting Motivation Subscales for Gamification of Lifelogging Application. International Journal of Software Innovation, 10(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijsi.313445 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4018/IJSI.313445
Nascimento, I. J. B. do, Pizarro, A. B., Almeida, J. M., Azzopardi‐Muscat, N., Gonçalves, M. A., Björklund, M., & Novillo-Ortiz, D. (2022). Infodemics and Health Misinformation: A Systematic Review of Reviews. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 100(9), 544–561. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.21.287654 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.21.287654
Pasca, M. G., Renzi, M. F., Pietro, L. D., & Mugion, R. G. (2021). Gamification in Tourism and Hospitality Research in the Era of Digital Platforms: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 31(5), 691–737. https://doi.org/10.1108/jstp-05-2020-0094 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-05-2020-0094
Patel, M. S., Benjamin, E. J., Volpp, K. G., Fox, C. S., Small, D. S., Massaro, J. M., Lee, J., Hilbert, V., Valentino, M., Taylor, D. H., Manders, E. S., Mutalik, K., Zhu, J., Wang, W., & Murabito, J. M. (2017). Effect of a Game-Based Intervention Designed to Enhance Social Incentives to Increase Physical Activity Among Families. Jama Internal Medicine, 177(11), 1586. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.3458 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.3458
Peng, R. (2024). Adaptive Gamification: Application in Online Learning and Collaboration. https://doi.org/10.32920/26052622 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32920/26052622
Polyanska, A., Andriiovych, M., Generowicz, N., Kulczycka, J., & Psyuk, V. (2022). Gamification as an Improvement Tool for HR Management in the Energy Industry—A Case Study of the Ukrainian Market. Energies, 15(4), 1344. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15041344 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en15041344
Putri, S. W. A., & Tirtoprojo, S. (2023). The Effect of Organizational Justice and Organizational Commitment on Innovative Work Behavior: Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing. International Journal of Medical Science and Health Research, 07(04), 01–16. https://doi.org/10.51505/ijebmr.2023.7801 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2023.7801
Qalati, S. A., Qureshi, N. A., Ostic, D., & Mohammed Ali Bait Ali Sulaiman. (2022). An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Factors Influencing Pakistani Households’ Energy-Saving Intentions and Behavior: A Mediated–moderated Model. Energy Efficiency, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-022-10050-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-022-10050-z
Rahman, S. u., Nguyen‐Viet, B., Nguyen, Y. T. H., & Kamran, S. (2024). Promoting Fintech: Driving Developing Country Consumers’ Mobile Wallet Use Through Gamification and Trust. The International Journal of Bank Marketing, 42(5), 841–869. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijbm-01-2023-0033 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-01-2023-0033
Schoch, S., Keller, R., Buff, A., Maas, J., Rackow, P., Scholz, U., Schüler, J., & Wegner, M. (2021). Dual-Focused Transformational Leadership, Teachers’ Satisfaction of the Need for Relatedness, and the Mediating Role of Social Support. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.643196 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.643196
Shen, Z., Lai, M., & Wang, F. (2024). Investigating the Influence of Gamification on Motivation and Learning Outcomes in Online Language Learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1295709 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1295709
Singh, H., & Dev, V. (2023). ICT-Driven Work Engagement Interventions in Work-From-Home: The Mediating Role of the Need for Relatedness. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 27. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v27i0.4039 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v27i0.4039
Wanga, I., Helová, A., Abuogi, L., Bukusi, E. A., Nalwa, W. Z., Akama, E., Odeny, T., Turan, J. M., & Onono, M. (2019). Acceptability of Community-Based Mentor Mothers to Support HIV-positive Pregnant Women on Antiretroviral Treatment in Western Kenya: A Qualitative Study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2419-z DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2419-z
